


Lone Angel

by buttermother



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, its just sad, mostly focusing on angela, the best genji/mercy friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 08:05:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9375764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttermother/pseuds/buttermother
Summary: All her life, Angela has been alone.





	

She is used to war by now. 

 

War is what took her parents from her when she was only a child. War is what spreads across foreign lands taking life by life like a disease she could not stop. War is what overtakes the people she knew and turned them into monsters, plagued their dreams. War is what pits human against Omnic, soul against soul, family against family. War is what left her in this world alone. War is the sickness of the masses. 

 

A sickness she is determined to rid the world of. 

 

\-- 

 

She throws herself into her studies after the letter arrives informing her of her parents’ decease and it pays off. Shutting everyone out leads to hours upon hours of holing up in a corner of the library across the street from Torbjorn’s house with countless medical journals and textbooks leads to her finishing high school at twelve. She spares no time for frivolities such as friends, partying, the such, finishing medical school at sixteen and sets off to work as a research facilitator and ends up pioneering a study in medical nanotechnology. Endless hours become days become years of experimenting on herself and finally becoming successful at implementing nanomachines into her body, stopping her from aging and healing her constantly but with a side effect of constant hunger. That would be dealt with later. 

 

Her presentation of her nanomachines impresses the lot and many flock to her afterwards with clipboards and thick packets to offer her jobs, money, labs, anything that would guarantee they gain her biotic technology but they fall on deaf ears as she only has eyes for the trio standing near the back of the presentation room. A woman with dark skin, long black hair and a strange mark underneath her left eye, a man with cropped sandy blond hair, his smile tinged with the weariness of life, and another man with a closely trimmed beard, his head topped with a knit cap and a scowl on his face. They were all tall, well built and looked to be close friends. She briefly remembers the names Torbjorn had told her. Anna, Jack and Gerald? Key members of Overwatch.

 

They offer her the position of field medic in their ranks and it takes Angela by surprise. All she can do is laugh and say she will think about it even though she doubts she will have to think much, joining Overwatch will allow her to help so many more. Their names are Ana, Jack and Gabriel she learns. Well, at least she’d gotten one right.

 

Angela doesn’t sleep much that night and wakes up early the next morning to rush to her computer, quickly typing up a letter to send to Ana Amari informing the woman that one very eager Angela Ziegler will be joining the ranks of Overwatch as their head of medical research.

 

The suit is made; the Valkyrie suit and oh what a beauty it is. A lightweight material she can fly in, polished and just for her. She pairs it with a halo which is of course, unnecessary but it does have a comm in it plus it completes her look and no one is complaining. The Caduceus Staff is made next and it is her pride and joy. Jack gives her a blaster, says it’s for her to use in case of emergencies, but she trashes it knowing she would never. She is soon known as Mercy, guardian of all, savior, angel. It flatters her but she never feels as though she deserves the titles. She will always be Angela Ziegler, an insightful and reserved woman with a dream of world peace.

 

She comes to know the Overwatch members by heart. Gabriel is distant but he acknowledges her every so now and then. Jack is tired most of the time but he always smiles when he sees her. Reinhardt had frightened her the first time she saw him, but she soon learns that despite his bulky build, he is a giant teddy bear. Ana Amari, protector, she is strong and unwavering and constantly praises Angela. Angela has the pleasure of meeting the woman’s adorable daughter, Fareeha Amari, once and she doesn’t forget the precious little girl’s face. She never comes to agree with Overwatch’s tactics for keeping peace, but she knows she can help so many more people by remaining with them. 

 

Then they bring her Genji Shimada.

 

His body is pale and defunct. He barely moves upon the stretcher, unconscious, blood covers his body. The only part of him that is lively is the shock of lime green hair upon his head. They tell her he is sick and dying and that he is in need of a new body. They tell her he has given his consent and will be joining the ranks of Overwatch afterwards as an assassin.

 

And she believes them.

 

She replaces his entire body with mechanical parts, energy tubes, implementing some of her nanomachines into his new body. She expects him to wake up a little disoriented, he will take time to adjust to his new body.

 

What she does not expect is for him to wake up in a fit of anger. He thrashes against his constraints cursing at her in agitated Japanese she does not understand. Obsidian eyes bear into her soul, ripping through her skin and she is scared. 

 

“Why did you do this to me?! Why couldn’t you have left me for dead?!” he cries out. 

 

“I only knew you were dying and I wanted to save you. I’m sorry if that is not what I did for you.”

 

Just like that, his expression changes from irate to diffident. His cursing takes on a somber tone and he lays back down. To her surprise, he thanks her and then breaks down into sobs, tears stream down his cheeks, heaving air in every other breath. She does not understand why but she does not push him instead handing him a glass of water and patting his back, starting to run down the list of what his new body means for him and he listens to her.

 

Their relationship is strained at first. He only comes to her for injuries and to have his energy caps replaced. She supposes it is better than the cold shoulder he gives the other Overwatch members, at least he talks to her every now and then. As time goes on, she notices he becomes more cordial. There are more smiles, however small they are and he does not tense up when she goes to replace his energy caps. She learns of the time he is spending with an Omnic named Zenyatta, how he calls Genji “Little Sparrow”, how they have become master and student and how Genji is learning to adapt to his cyborg body. She thinks it’s cute and even goes as far as to gently push Genji to visit the Omnic when he has nothing better to do.

 

They become surprisingly good friends and Angela is glad for it. Angela knows that even though he does not need food, Genji likes to sneak packets of dried seaweed and shrimp chips back to base to indulge himself on. That he somehow reprogrammed his body, implementing a router within it to be his own wifi hub, hence her receiving random emoticon-filled emails from him in the late night hours asking how she is doing. He becomes her best friend in a field where best friends shouldn’t exist, but she does not regret anything. He is sweet and filled with life and when she comes to know the reason he was brought to her and what he does for Overwatch now, she becomes disconcerted.

 

“Why do you continue to do this? You could be free, I thought I knew them,” she is shaken, everything around her crumbles.

 

“I have no choice, Angela. Please do not be upset. Such would have been the fate of my clan even if you hadn’t saved me,” he gives her a small smile and exits the medbay in a flash of green.

 

She holds back tears she didn’t think she had. The rivalry between him and his brother. Him being brought to her on his deathbed after his brother had nearly killed him. He had never agreed to a new body, they had forced it upon him after having lied to her. Then they used him as a killing machine to wipe out his entire clan and his brother was next on the list. How could she not have known?

 

Well.

 

She did. In a way.

 

_ “Angela, this is Genji Shimada. He is on the brink of death and you are the only one who can save him. Please know he has given his consent and will be joining us as an assassin after he is well again.” _

 

Assassin.

 

For the first time in years, she cries.

 

The next morning she wakes up with puffy eyes and the news that the Overwatch Headquarters has been destroyed. Overwatch is disbanded.

 

\--

 

_ Do you ever think about what you would be doing now? If Overwatch had not been disbanded, Angela?  _ Genji’s handwriting is neat and precise, compared to her chicken scratch.

 

_ No. Maybe it is best it remain that way.  _ She is lying and she knows it. It has been ten years since the organization fell apart and Angela spends every day thinking of what it could have been. She’s put Genji’s story behind herself, she knows it was maybe not the best decision but it was all they could do at the time. She becomes lost in thought.

 

After the destroying of Overwatch Headquarters, Angela had attended a UN committee, had explained the tension that had arisen between Gabriel and Jack, and how that had led to their demise. It was not a job she wanted to do, it was a job she had to do. Ana had died or so everyone thought. The fierce woman had begun to write to her after recovering from her mishap with the Widowmaker asking how her daughter was doing though regrettably, Angela had no clue as to Fareeha's whereabouts. She had jumped from place to place all over the world, helping everyone she could and her nanotech had only grown since then with the help of Torbjorn, the man still buoyant and energetic, despite his age. Now, she is stationed in Iraq, helping to build shelter and provide medical attention to those in need. 

A tugging at her coat pulls her out of her reverie and she looks down to see a little girl gazing up at her tentatively. Sighing, Angela rubs at the girl's head and folds the letter up neatly, setting it aside for later. For now, she has work to do and lives to save.

 

\--

 

She gets the message from Winston two days later and it sends her into a frenzy. 

 

Overwatch? Coming back together? They couldn't possibly. Not after everything that had happened ten years ago. Yet the bright yellow notification box remains lit, illuminating in her face in her dark office. 

 

She had a life here, saving others. What could Overwatch possibly have to offer her? She's confident there's not much the organization can do now, even Winston's letter says they could only act as mercenaries. And she's about to close the notification when another one lights up, a call from Lena Oxton.

"Lena what is it?" the girl has not changed in all the years Angela has known her. A wide grin is plastered across a face littered with freckles.

 

"Oh nothing doc, you know. Just wondering if you've seen the notification from Winston? What are you thinking of it, love? Gibraltor weather is lovely this time of year I hear," her chronal accelerator glows blue on her chest, its light dim compared to the British girl's smile.

 

She makes a decision.

 

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to meet up as old friends would it?" she has no clear motive to join Overwatch, but oh how she does miss the gorilla dearly. 

 

They catch up quickly on what each had been doing to pass the time. Angela hears about Lena's girlfriend, Emily and when shown a picture of her, Angela remembers operating on the girl's father and how the redhead would come in often to keep her father company. Angela ends the call with a smile on her face and anticipation for the weeks to come.

 

\--

 

Winston carries all her belongings up to a room for her even though she insists against it.

 

"I'm much bigger than you, therefore I can carry more and limit the trips you'll have to make."

 

She huffs but doesn't argue. The dining hall is filled with both familiar and new faces and she finds herself making her way over to one slightly tipsy man donned in a poncho and a Stetson hat. Oh how he hasn't changed.

 

"Jesse," she smiles and can't help but laugh when he gives her his signature 'Howdy', tipping his hat too far and saying she hasn't aged a day while leaning on a table.

 

The night is filled with laughter and nostalgia although it is missing a few faces, there are new ones Angela will learn. She spots Torbjorn with his arm slung haphazardly across Jesse's shoulders, they sing a drawled out tune while swinging whiskey bottles around. The giant hulking figure of none other than Reinhardt fills her with warmth and she walks over to greet him only to be crushed when he pulls her into an embrace, speaking of how much he has missed her. She catches up with Mei on the latest technology and they both say the other hasn't aged a day at the same time, prompting both women to burst into laughter. It is warm and she can't help but miss the faces that weren't present. As she retires for the night, she dumps the stale beer Jesse had offered her into the sink and makes her way back to the room Winston had prepared for her. There's no guarantee she'll rejoin Overwatch, but there was a possibility and it was heartening to see some of her old colleagues again. Lost in thouhgt, Angela bumps into a tall figure as she rounds the corner, she quickly utters an apology with her head down.

 

"Angela?" the voice is familiar and she looks up to see

 

_ Ana? No.  _

 

"Fareeha," and oh how she had grown.

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
